Cigarettes and Vanilla
by Black-Ink32
Summary: AU.Honestly, she was more appalled than angered. Who in their right mind holds Rachel Berry up- at knife point might I add, while her partner robs the Lima Market store, then proceed to ask her on a date the next day? Someone obviously out of their F-ing mind and apparently that person is one Quinn Fabray.
1. Jagged Edged Knife

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Glee or any of its characters.

_Cigarettes and Vanilla_

**Prologue**

I hadn't ever pictured myself in this situation before. Why should I have? I wasn't a trouble maker, I volunteered regularly, kept my grades up and advocated for the animals. This was all too soon. I was supposed go on Broadway, win a Tony, lose my virginity. I can't die a virgin!

"Stop squirming."

My breathe hitches and I close my eyes tightly at the feel of sharp metal edging closer into my neck. The groceries have long since been forgotten, laying strewn out on the wet asphalt of the parking lot. Honestly, this is my fault really. If I had just waited till after school tomorrow to pick up flour and sugar for those damn cookies.

"You're out awfully late you know." She smells like cigarettes and vanilla. An odd combination maybe, but it seems to work on her. "Why?"

"I don't see why that's any of your concern," I say. "Why it matters to you I don't know, seeing as your going to k-kill me."

My captor loses her grip around my front slightly, whether from surprise––I'm not entirely sure. It was only for a moment, before she tightens quickly.

"I'm not going to kill you," she husks out. "Whatever made you think that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the knife held against my throat." The girl chuckles lightly, but doesn't remove her knife. I can see her partner through the window of the Lima Market. She's managed to get the cashier to empty the contents of the register into her duffle sack bag. Poor boy, he's wet himself if the dark stay on the front of his pants is any indication. I guess he'll rethink job choices after this one.

"I hope you realize that what your doing is illegal. I wouldn't be surprised if you found yourself within police custody in a few days." My voice is shaking, because the enormity of this situation has finally dawned on me.

"And I hope you know that my partner and I are wearing masks and are fully aware that the Lima Market seems to have foregone security cameras."

My stomach drops. They could stab both of us––me and Mr. Prepubescent Cashier––and get away with it. Baking these cookies weren't worth my life.

"I've never tried this before but I'll give it a shot now." My body stiffens. Here it comes. "Give me all your money."

"What?"

"You heard me. Give me all your money or I'll...I'll kill you right here and now." Her voice is strong but wavers at the last bit. I'm still not chancing anything though.

"My wallet is in my back pocket. The right one."

She removes her left hand from my front and slips it into the pocket. I barely feel a thing.

"That's a nice picture you got there Ms. Berry," she says. Her tone is genuine and it throws me for a loop. "Anyway here you are. At least with a bit of this chump change I can buy myself lunch at school. Thanks."

And just like that its over. I stand dazedly for a moment before turning around in time to see my captor run off into the distance with her partner. Touching my neck gently, I feel for any cuts or blood. With no harm or injury, but just a traumatic memory lodged in my brain, I pick up my fallen groceries and head home.

**A/N: Guess I got another one out. I enjoy this concept and the whole punk Quinn going on. Anyway tell me what you think guys.**


	2. That Fabray Girl

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Glee or any of its characters.

_Cigarettes and Vanilla_

**Chapter 1**

The hallways were packed with teenagers of all heights and body types. The bell had rung minutes ago and now everyone was rushing to their classes after having stood in the hallway milling about. Hugging my books tight to my chest, I make my way to AP Biology remaining invisible in the large crowd.

I sit myself in the front row, directly in front of the teachers desk. It's where I've always sat, and I try to do so in every class unless theres assigned seating. I find it easier to concentrate and the alternative is far worse. Sitting in the back with the jocks and cheerleaders isn't my type of green tea. Though I don't think a whole lot are in AP classes.

"Alright class, we've covered the Krebs Cycle and hopefully you've done your homework," starts Mr. Coombs the minute the bell rings. His greying hair is parted neatly and his clothes are crisp and ironed. "So now its time for a game of Hit or Miss."

The class groans in unison and I pull out my notes and homework. The pages are still a bit crinkly in places where I gripped to hard last night.

_Give me all your money or I'll...I'll kill you right here and now._

I shiver and place my hands on the desk to remind myself of where I am.

"Oh come on guys, it'll be easy...if you did the work I assigned that is." He lets out a low chuckle, pushing his glasses back. "No really, I'll go easy on you guys––"

And the classroom door opens to reveal black boots, ripped jeans and a dark hoody. Pink hair sticks out from under the hood, but a shadow obscures the persons face.

"Well look who we have here?" Mr. Coombs smirks. His square face crumples into a disapproving mask. "Your late, late, late. Please, hand me your pass, take a seat and take the hoodie off Miss Fabray. Honestly, I'm quite surprised your here. That you'd even grace us with your presence, considering Ms. Clark wasn't good enough."

This Fabray girl dumps the pass in Mr. Coombs hand and takes a seat way in the back. She doesn't remove her hood, a fact that hasn't escaped Mr. Coombs attention.

"Ms. Fabray step to the front of the class, please." She remains behind her desk and even goes as far as to put her feet atop of it. "Take the hood off."

She ignores him and pulls out a binder and pen. "It'd be nice if you started class so we could learn something, instead of harping about whether or not my hood should be on or off."

The class gasps and I feel a warmth in the pit of my stomach. That voice...

Mr. Coombs isn't sure what to do in this situation, so he takes the most appropriate route and continues on with Hit or Miss. By time class ends I have less than half of the notes I should have been taking down. I'm not sure why my thoughts or my eyes keep wandering to the back of the class for another look at Fabray.

My books are being placed in my locker when I feel a warm breath against my neck. I stiffen.

_Stop squirming._

"So any particular reason you couldn't keep your eyes off me earlier?" Her breath tickles my ears and I grip the last book in my hand tightly.

_I've never tried this before but I'll give it a shot now._

I spin around, only to step back further into my locker. Her eyes. A hazel color, but they hold something. Familiarity.

"I––do I know you?" My voice sounds accusing, although I'm not sure what I'm accusing her of.

"No," she says quickly, flipping bright pink hair. Her nose ring is distracting, along with her dark eye liner and porcelain face. "Why?"

"You seem familiar in a way."

"I get that a lot," she shoots me a dirty smirk and I'm put on edge. "I'm Quinn. We should go out. "

"...what?"

"You heard me." She leans in closer and I catch her scent. She smells like...

_"You're out awfully late you know." She smells like cigarettes and vanilla. An odd combination maybe, but it seems to work on her. "Why?"_

"It was you," I whisper. "Your the one that held me up."

Her expression falters then darkens. Placing a hand behind me, she shuts my locker door and lowers her mouth to my ear.

"And? What are you going to do about it?" I can hear the waver in her voice. My comment was unexpected and I'm sure I caught her off guard. What I'm unsure of is whether or not she's scared.

"I'm appalled that you'd even ask me out after knowing your crime against me. Do you even recognize me from last night?"

Her answer comes slowly and leaves quickly. Being this close to her, knowing the face behind the mask is too much for me. The halls have emptied and we're ten minutes late to our next class.

"What are you doing?" I gasp at the feel of her slipping something into my back pocket.

Her hand lingers there for a moment before sliding out.

"I'm returning your money. I'm not a bad guy you know. I just do stupid things sometimes. Like right now and before. I don't want you to be afraid of me."

"Well it's too late for that. You should have thought of that before holding a knife to my throat," I whisper harshly, pushing her off of me. "To think you even had a chance with me shows how low level you are."

I see a flicker of hurt behind hazel. That's all it is. A flicker. Quickly its replaced by heated fury.

"I still have that knife you know. Why don't I re-introduce you to it." And I see her hand itching closer to her hoodie pocket.

"So you resort to threats when your angry?" I throw out. "When you don't get your way? If you touch me, I swear I'll have the police, my father's, the NAACP, anybody who will listen, they'll be all over you."

I'm suddenly Rachel Berry the Brave and I can't pin where it came from. My heart beats erratically, my breath quickens.

"I thought you looked so beautiful that night you know," she whispers, looking down the hall. "I didn't want to hurt you or scare you. But you were there and what else was I supposed to do? Had I left Ronnie to do it you probably would be dead. Look, I'm sorry for all it's worth. I gave you your money back and you can have the satisfaction of putting me behind bars. Or Juvie I guess."

Quinn is unstable...either that or she's given up and is baring her all. I want so badly to forgive her and know this person, the one she's showing me, but it occurs to me that her knife was held against my neck last night and she is who was running through my nightmares. Her face will be forever imprinted in my brain and attached to it will be fear.

I fear her.

I'm afraid of her and that weapon concealed in her pocket.

"You scare me." I finally say.

"I know. I can tell," she chuckles, but it's pitiful.

My fathers always told me I had a heart of gold and that I wore it on my sleeve. Maybe it would catch someones eye and they'd run off with it, they'd say. Hopefully their heart would be secure with me as well. I care too much and in this moment I see exactly why people take advantage of me. I'm too giving as well and right now I'm about to give Quinn Fabray a chance.

"We can meet at the Lima Bean after school. It's not a date, but we have to start somewhere."

And it is a start. To something I'm not sure of yet, but a beginning it is.

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**_Thanks guys. I put out another one. Review! Tell me what you think :)_**


	3. Smoke in The Wind

**Disclaimer** I don't own Glee or any of its characters.

_Cigarettes and Vanilla_

**Chapter 2**

The smell of smoke clung to her like the very clothes on her back. It was sharp, but with a slightly earthy undertone. Vanilla somehow found its way into the mix adding a sweet, flavorful edge. Her scent surrounds me; engulfs me. Her pink hair looks tamed, as though she combed it right before I arrived.

I settle my things down on the small table she reserved for us and gesture to the long line forming for coffee and other such related items. She understands. I rarely visit the Lima Bean, and often times find myself sipping self-made green tea at home. It's too crowded and the air is filled with the scent of cheaply brewed coffee. The lights are dimmed to create a sort of relaxed ambiance and the classical music played above makes this whole place feel like a poorly constructed knock off of Starbucks.

"Rachel. Is that you?" My heart clenches when I hear a certain low voice.

"Finn? What are you doing here?" I look up at the tall teen, and see his dopey grin and disheveled hair. He places his hands into his letterman jacket and shrugs.

"I was just stopping by for some coffee beans for the house. We ran out and I almost forgot to to get them."

"Coffee drinking is such a bad habit." I shake my head and move up in line.

"Yeah, I know," he laughs. "You still haven't broken me from it yet."

"Well not for lack of trying," I mumble. "Where's Kurt?"

"In the truck. He didn't want to come in."

"Right. I suppose you only need one person to pick up coffee beans." I smile and tuck a strand of loose hair behind my ear. "Do you have your song ready for Glee on Tuesday?"

"Totally. Me and Puck––"

"Puck and I––"

"––are so going to kick butt. We have this badass song picked out and everything."

"Well I'm glad you're so enthused Finn. That's what I like to hear. Other members, for lack of better words, "pumped up" for Glee." I say.

"Next in line, please," the cashier calls.

I smile apologetically at Finn and order a medium sized green tea. We exchange money and I wait patiently for my order to be made.

"So who are you here with?" Finn asks, looking around the room for anyone he thinks is my drinking partner.

"Quinn Fabray," I say simply. It bothers me how easily her name rolls off my tongue.

"Wait––what?" His nose is wrinkled and he looks down at me in a disapproving manner. "Quinn Fabray? As in Skank Quinn Fabray?"

"Finn that was a highly inappro––"

"––No, no, that's the name of her group. Their called the Skanks. You know, Ronnie, The Mack, Sheila and Quinn. They go around tormenting freshmen and smoke cigarettes."

"I––"

"It's why I sounded so surprised when I heard you were here with Quinn. She's bad people Rach, be careful" he advises.

"I can take care of myself Finn, thank you very much," I say indignantly. "I think I know who is good company and who is not."

Quinn may very well be bad company, but I haven't given her a chance to prove herself yet Finn, is what I want to say.

"Well okay Rach," he shrugs.

My order is ready and I get ready to give Finn a curt good-bye, when he places a warm hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eye. Brown eyes to brown.

"Let's forget about Quinn, I wanted to ask you something. Do you think maybe, we could go to Breadstixs on Saturday? I'll pick you up and everything. I really miss you. Ever since the Santana incident we haven't been as close and sometimes I just miss having somebody to talk to about nothing, ya know?"

"Finn I'm not sure if––"

"––Please Rachel. It doesn't have to be a date. I just wanna talk, that's all. I promise."

"...okay," I whisper and I see his eyes light up. "Saturday it is."

"Sweet," he grins, stuffing his hands into his pocket. "I'll text you the time and stuff."

"Alright, well I'll see you later Finn."

I walk away with a weird feeling in my stomach and when I reach Quinn she has a strange expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" I ask, setting down my drink and pulling out my chair. The sun from the window next to our table is pouring in and making her eyes shine brighter than gold.

"That boy, you know him?" She says it so innocently that she makes me think it's a harmless question. Only for a second though.

"Yes. We're in Glee club together. His name is Finn. He dropped by to pick up coffee beans, why do you ask?"

She shrugs and swirls her coffee around in her cup. The silence makes my stomach clench uncomfortably. I sip my green tea and stare out the window instead.

Quinn sighs deeply and out of the corner of my eye I see her run ring covered fingers through pink hair. "What are we doing?"

"I don't know. It's weird. We're not exactly friends, in fact I hardly know you...you know except for what happened last night," I frown.

"How about we start anew? Forget last night and let's start over, yeah?" Her eyes are twinkling, and a large part of me wants to go along with what's she's saying. I can't forget last night, but I can try to forgive her for it.

"Hi, my name is Rachel Berry." I give her a bright smile and stick my hand out. She takes it and shakes it slowly.

"The name is Fabray. Quinn Fabray," she chuckles.

"Well it is a pleasure Quinn."

"The same goes for you Rachel." And we both burst into tiny smiles and giggles.

I sober up quickly.

"Quinn, I––"

"I know its still a little weird. We're two totally different people and under normal circumstances I wouldn't be caught near you. I do have a reputation to uphold after all."

I scoff at her blatant comment. "What reputation?"

"My badass one." She flexes for effect and I roll my eyes.

"Right. No, I understand. So then why are we doing this? Why are we pretending to like each other and drink hot beverages cordially?"

The cafe seems more packed when I scan the room. Tables are filled and the line is longer. How long have I been here?

"Because you wanted to see that I wasn't a monster. I'm trying to prove to you that I'm not a monster," she whispers.

"I know your not," I say. My cup is gripped tightly in my hand. "If anything the time spent here with you has proven that you're anything but a monster. I would even go as far as to say your forgiven. But where does that leave us? We have nothing in common and this right here is not necessary. I forgive you Quinn. It was an isolated incident that I hope you learned from."

"So that's it? We're done?" Her face is neutral and I'm not sure why this feels like a break up.

"I guess so. I do hope we'll still talk and interact at school, but theres nothing here for us." I pull out a pen and write my number on a white paper napkin.

"Here's my phone number. I have to go anyway, my fathers and I are having a friday movie night."

When I pull out of the parking lot, I see Quinn leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette lazily. The smoke wraps around her fingers and mouth like a snake. I feel my stomach clench again and I wonder if I made the right decision in cutting things off with Quinn sooner rather than later.

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**Alright guys. There you have it. Chapter two. The official update day will be Tuesdays and the make-up day will be Thursday. No there will not be another chapter tomorrow. I delivered this one early. If you're nice you may get one on Thursday, but with school and all having started I think not. You guys are actually lucky. Had my power gone out-thank Hurricane Isaac-there may have not been an update today or tomorrow. Ugh, Florida. Anyway, thank you for all the reviews and PM's and favorites and followings! You guys are awesome. Now lets be awesome again and review this chapter too :)**


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